


A world of Witches

by zweltstein7



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Ariana lives instead of Albus, BAMF Harry Potter, BAMF Hermione Granger, F/F, F/M, Headmistress Dumbledore, Incest, Multi, Only witches have magic, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Potter Twins, The girl who lived, Twincest, plus Harry
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-09-27
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2020-10-29 13:07:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,717
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20797109
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zweltstein7/pseuds/zweltstein7
Summary: October 31st, 1981, Lily Potter was murdered and her daughter was given the name 'The-Girl-Who-Lived' for surviving the killing curse.  Following this, the Potter twins, Harry and Ella Potter, were placed with the Dursleys to keep them safe from the machinations of a magical world that had been stuck in war for too long.Unfortunately, the Potter twins grow up unloved and mistreated, barely surviving while they huddled in their cupboard under the stairs.  When Harry turns five he begins to fear that he and his sister won't be able to continue with the Dursleys starving them.  He made a desperate wish for help and it was answered by his magic acting out.  He hides his new power, even from his sister, for fear of what his relatives might do to him if they found out.  But now the future held a ray of hope.Now Harry had Magic.





	1. Hollow Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, the first few chapters start out slow as I fill in the modified world. In the first two chapters there is something with the names that looks like a mistake but I promise it is not.
> 
> Enjoy.

Ariana Dumbledore collapsed into her chair and stared at the shards of glass that now littered the top of her desk. It was the device that was supposed to be monitoring Lily Potters health. Given that she was literally secreted behind the fidelius charm of potter cottage the device was mostly for making sure the children were looked after if a fluke accident like breaking a limb or catching a fever made her unable to do so for a period of time. Such an event would have darkened the device in a similar manner to a remberall but now it lay shattered. Lily Potter was dead. 

Tears ran down Ariana's face until more magical implements started to sound their alarms which indicated the breach to potter cottage. They must have been delayed by the attacker so as to keep her away. She remembered the children. The children who were now without a mother. The children who might be stuck in the house with Dark Witch and maybe even whoever had betrayed Lily's secret. Even if she wanted to believe the prophecy that lily's daughter would kill Morgrave, Ariana was under no illusion that the infant witch stood any more chance against the fully grown dark witch than if a niffler attempted to fight an erumpent. 

One shared look with Fawkes and a burst of flame later Ariana stood at the now destroyed gate to Potter cottage. The path to the doorway was trailed with decayed grass that marked the path Morgrave must have taken. Ariana began casting spells immediately. Golden wards sprung from her wand in attempt to frighten off the Dark witch. Ariana wanted to see her flee. If she had to flee it meant that she hadn't yet finished in the house and the children might still be alive. There was no activity across the wards. No fleeing dark witch. A detection spell rolled off her lips before she Knew what she doing and the second it took the magic to sweep over the house was filled with dread for what it might reveal. 

The first bit of information to flow into her head indicated that the house had severe structural damage. Spell scorches marred many of the downstairs walls and the leftovers of the furniture. Everything else was too destroyed for the spell to make sense of what it might have been before tonight. Worse was the fact that an extensive part of the roof over what Ariana wished she was merely mistaking as the nursery had been completely blown to smithereens. A small part of her mind coldly stated that it was just like monster to do so much just to destroy a child and she recoiled at the imagery that she had imagined to match her thoughts. The next bit of information that came through was the absence of any active magic except for the wards she set up and the quickly fading fidelius charm. There were no traps in store for the old witch and if Morgrave was still here she wasn't doing anything magical. She canceled the spell before it could reveal anything about the possible state of the cottage's inhabitants but the little that slipped through indicated that Morgrave had in fact been the one to cause this wreckage and was no longer on site.

Ariana walked up the diseased path to the cottage door, her face again streaked by tears. The only pieces of the door that remained were a few stubborn pieces of wood closest to the hinges. Her view of the interior revealed the accuracy of her detection charm. Among the wreckage however, one thing was missing. Something Ariana dreaded finding. Lily's body was not down here. 

The walk up the stairs went far too quickly and soon Ariana was staring straight through the door to the nursery that Lily had proudly shown off when she came by to set up the fidelius charm on the property. She had looked so happy showing off where her children would grow up and happiness had been so rare on the young witches face since James died. It was almost ironic with all the people desperately targeting the couple that James would die as just another face in the crowd when death eaters ambushed diagon alley. Word of his death only reached Lily after the polyjuice potion had worn off and the mediwitch realized that one of her corpses was no longer sporting a thick brown beard.

Now though, laying just a few feet beyond the door, next to the crib and under the open sky left bare by the collapsed ceiling, lay the dead body of Lily Potter. She was wearing casual clothes obviously not expecting any type of attack. They torn in quite a few places where curses had hit their mark during the battle that left the house in ruins. 

Ariana felt the bare traces of Morgrave's presence fading away and understood that whatever happened here had brought about her end. This news did nothing to stop tears from rolling down Ariana's cheek unbidden and she fell to her knees as her strength left her. And then she heard the rustling of cloth nearby. It was a soft sound and she almost missed it. A glimmer of hope appeared in her mind and she rushed up and grasped the edge of the crib as she looked inside. 

Lying there next to each other were Lily's two children with little Harry's arms wrapped around his sister protectively. They were alive. Lily potter had succeeded in saving her children at the cost of her own life. Ariana took out her wand and cast every detection and diagnosis spell she knew but there was nothing. No curse, no internal injury, no crippled magical cores, not even a binding. The entire reason Morgrave would have been so insistent on killing Lily would be to get at her daughter and yet it looks as though she never managed to so much as touch her.

Finally, after casting an obscure spell that she learned in India several decades ago, she got a response. Her eyes widened at the implications and looked down to look at Ella more closely. There on her forehead, was a scar in the shape of a lightning bolt where she had been hit by the killing curse. And inside that scar lay the scarred fragment of the dark witch's soul. An anchor to the land of the living to keep her from dying. A horcrux. 

Her face paled. Morgrave couldn't be dead if she had been using this piece of magic. If Ella was the only one, Ariana could simply tell the world and call help from over the world to resolve it. Her knowledge wasn't infinite but she was sure there were experts who could successfully remove the taint or could figure out the method to do so. But it wasn't so simple.

She couldn't know for sure that this was the only anchor that the Dark witch had created. By this time tomorrow the world would be at peace and begin the process of cleaning up the remains of her allies. They would be without their leader and easy to corner. If they knew their leader wasn't dead that would not happen. They would continue their assaults, muggle baiting, and generally spreading their twisted doctrine. 

She couldn't let the world know that there was even the possibility of Morgrave to return, not until they were ready to stand again against her. Frank and Alice Longbottom had been designated as the god parents for the twins. In a few days Ariana could try to get a message through their wards to have them care for the two but until then there was nothing else she could do.

She took the twins and apparated to the only place she could think of, Lily's sister's home on Privet drive. It was the last resort of all the options Lily and her had discussed but she didn't know who she could trust. She conjured a blanket for the two children and a letter to explain. No one from the magical world probably even knew that Lily had a sister so they would be safe here under some minor warding. 

Once they were placed with the Longbottoms, they would be safe but for now there were far too few people that could be trusted and provide a defense against revenge seeking death eaters. Just a few days and Ariana would take them back. Just a few days.

She left just in time to miss Harry's hand come into contact with his sister's new scar. She wasn't there to witness golden flames appear on his tiny hand and then dive into the scar, or how they went deeper and deeper until they found the darkness that had caused it. She didn't know that the fragment of Morgrave's soul's last moments were ones of terror while it was consumed by the fire until nothing was left and they retreated to Harry's outstretched hand. 

The scar was now gone and Harry relaxed. Something had hurt his sister but he had fixed it. Something bad had put her in danger but he had done his job to protect her. Harry would always protect her.

Another pulse over magic rang out and overrode Ariana's wards. Complex structures and interweaves appeared, designed solely to protect his sister from the "bad" that had hurt her. No one could know that by doing so, Harry had doomed them to ten years of danger and hatred. Because Harry's magic had reached out to erase their location from everyone's memory and records. No one knew where to find the Potter twins, even Dumbledore.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry Potter didn't really recognize how different his life was until his fifth birthday when his aunt and uncle told him his name for the first time. Before that point they had only ever called him boy or freak which was already better than his sister who they only referred to as monster if they even took the time to acknowledge her existence. During the four years the twins lived with the Durselys, they had only talked about Harry's sister a handful of times and actively avoided anything else of the subject. She was never allowed outside the cupboard where the twins resided and the only real food she received was whatever amount Harry was able to give her from his own meager rations. Despite this, as their birthday passed and she was left nameless she had broken into tears knowing they would never care for or acknowledge her. She had curled into Harry and hugged him attempting to fall asleep and escape, not even caring about the twin's traditional if somewhat pitiful birthday celebrations. It hurt Harry more than any of the beating he received to see her cry like this. She was the only happy thing in his life and so he quickly turned the light back on and moved his sister so she was facing him with her tear-stained face and a pout that indicated she was somewhat upset at her pillow's actions. Harry forced a smile onto his face and tried to put as much cheer into his voice as he said "Well, now that they've gone to sleep I can give you your birthday present."

She looked at him shocked and a little disbelieving but Harry noticed that there seemed to be a spark of hope now as well. It became a little bit easier to hold the smile on his face and asked her if she still wanted it. Her slow head nod was encouraging but Harry schooled his expression until it looked like he deep in thought with head tilted and a finger to his chin. 

"I was supposed to give this gift to the happy birthday girl, but you don't look very happy." Harry playacted his own pout after saying this and then an expression that seemed to say he had just gotten an excellent idea. "Since I can't seem to find a _happy_ birthday girl to give it to how about I exchange it with you." His twin was now paying full attention to her brother who was now starting to irritate her. It was obvious that he had a gift, though she didn't see it, and it was meant for her. Harry had given her everything she owned, besides the cupboard although she figured that didn't count because they shared it, so she didn't see how she could exchange anything for this mysterious gift. Even the overlarge t-shirt which she wore and was one of her only articles of clothing had come from Harry. Harry noticed his sister's irritation and internally whooped in celebration, irritation was definitely better than sadness in his opinion especially with what he had planned. 

"Hmm … how about this? Since I was supposed to give this to a _happy_ birthday girl how about I give it to you in exchange for a smile." When his twin heard this she was shocked for a moment and then felt her lips curl into a smile without her prompting. She wasn't smiling for the gift at this point but at another reminder of how much her brother cared for her that he would do this to see her smile. He was soon sporting a similar smile as he watched her change in expression and leaned forward towards her.

"Now, that’s much better and I guess I better give the birthday girl her gift now." Harry reached out to pull her back into the hug they had been sharing before all of this and leaned back down so they were cuddling again. He breathed in and then whispered into her ear "Happy birthday Rose Potter."

She stiffened in his arms and for a split moment he feared that he had messed up, that Rose was a terrible name or that maybe she didn't want a name that came from him. A few seconds which felt far longer than they should to the five year old boy passed torturously as he came up with every reason a name was a horrible present. Then he felt her soften against him again and ask "Can you say that again?"

"Happy birthday Rose."

"Thank you Harry, this is the best birthday present I could ever have."

Harry smiled, glad that his fears were unfounded and that his sister truly did like the name he gave her or at least the fact he had given her a name. He continued to whisper her name into her ear until her breath evened out and she had fallen asleep. Harry drifted off several minutes later thinking of how much he loved his sister. His beautiful Rose.

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

School time for Harry and Dudley arrived just a little bit of time after his birthday and he went with no small amount of anxiety at the thought of leaving Rose alone most of the day. Despite this he was admittedly excited to go to school and get away from the adult Dursleys for at least a short amount of time. The two feelings warred inside until Rose had stated that he should go learn so that he could come back and teach her, that way they could both learn from it. Harry promised that he would do all he could to learn so that he could teach it all to her and while a portion of the guilt remained it was muffled by his promise.

After being dropped off at the school Harry quickly did his best to get away from his fat cousin Dudley and Aunt Petunia who was dragging the tantruming little walrus towards the front desk to ask for directions. Harry had memorized the teacher's name and after a little bit of exploration was soon standing outside the classroom with a nametag saying Mrs. Green. The teacher seemed somewhat surprised to see a child enter without a parent but after asking his name and confirming that Harry Potter was in fact a student of hers she gave him a smile and told him to find a seat. He did so and introduced himself to the other kids nearby. They didn't talk much, a bit nervous from the first day of school and just not having much to say as a bunch of five year olds. Once the other kids did start talking, Harry found that he had nothing to contribute to the conversation. Spending most of his time in a cupboard and the rest of it doing chores had made his social skills non-existent. 

About ten minutes later, five minutes after the bell indicating class began had rang, aunt Petunia appeared at the door of the class. Behind her was Dudley who, by the looks of the sucker he had in his mouth, had been bribed out of his earlier tantrum. Petunia was wearing that awful fake smile that Harry always hated as she lied to the teacher about car trouble being the cause of Dudley's tardiness. 

When Petunia left, Dudley took an empty seat and class began. The first class was mostly introductions and small activities punctuated at times by Dudley's fits. The first had been when he wanted to be first in one of the games. The second had been at lunch when he was scolded for taking another student's pudding without asking. 

On that one Harry almost laughed at the look of shock on Dudley's face. Vernon and Petunia rarely told him no and always turned a blind eye if he wanted to take food from Harry so he probably did think there was nothing wrong with his theft. The rest of the fits were mostly because no one wanted to approach him after the pudding incident.

When they got back in the car to go home, Dudley immediately told Aunt Petunia about the other 'monster children' and the unfair teacher that kept putting him in time out when he did nothing wrong. After an entire car ride of Dudley's screaming, which gave Harry and headache, the only thing Petunia had somehow heard was 'It's all Harry's fault'. 

As soon as they were back inside the house where none of the neighbors might see, Petunia slapped Harry across the face and began her own session of screaming about how Harry, freak that he was, turned the teacher against her precious 'Duddykins'. Harry guessed Petunia was getting close to the end of her rant when she was raised her voice a touch past screeching cat level. Before she could finish, and most likely deliver another slap, the sound of a rumbling stomach growled out to the room. Harry noticed the gleam in Petunia's eye and his empty stomach dropped. 

"Well, since we provided you with lunch and you were obviously a menace at school, you can go without supper." The sneer on her face was even more vicious than usual to Harry. 

"But I already went without supper for the past two days. I'll starve." Harry tried to plead with her. He wasn't so much worried for himself but Rose. He couldn't bring up her in an argument since it would have the opposite effect and likely keep him without supper for himself or her for even longer. She was a good deal smaller than him already and didn't do well without food. The half of his lunch sandwich that he secreted away, a simple slice of cheese between two slices of bread, would do next to nothing to keep his twin from staying up tonight due to hunger pains yet again. 

Unfortunately, Harry didn't notice his hand reaching to his pocket to reassure himself that the half sandwich was still there. Petunia grabbed his arm roughly before he could react and snatched the food from his pocket. 

"You ungrateful child. After all we do to feed you, you would refuse the gift we give you. Cupboard! Now!" Petunia was waving around the sandwich and it took all Harry had not to break down right then. Because of him Rose would have to go without food. The night before had already been bad enough trying to keep her from crying as she curled into him in pain. 

He walked woodenly to his cupboard, hardly acknowledging his surroundings. He paused for a moment outside the door under the stairs and tried to school his features. He knew the smile would look fake but it was the best he could do. His eyes instantly locked onto Roses' when she came into view and it almost physically hurt to see her face light up knowing what he would have to tell her. He didn't even notice the additional weight that settled in his hand as he got in and shut the door. Before he could break his news he was hit by a barrage of questions from his energetic twin.

"So, what was school like? Were the other kids nice? What did you learn? Can you teach me? Was the teacher like Aunt and uncle? How-- "

"One question at a time okay. We have plenty of time to talk about that."

"Oh, right. Sorry. Uh… Actually can we have dinner first? I'm starving. I'm surprised the sandwich looks a lot bigger than usual. Normally its just bread and cheese." The first part of what she said had frozen Harry but the latter half confused him until he followed where her eyes were pointed. In his hand was a full sandwich with various ingredients in the center. It wasn't as large as the giant behemoths that Vernon or Dudley would eat but it was definitely more full than any sandwich the twins had ever had before. It was also not supposed to exist.

"Uh … Yeah, go ahead." Harry's smile turned genuine when he saw Rose carefully take a bite, eye's going wide at the flavor. They ate the sandwich slowly after the first few bites and Harry did his best to answer all of Rose's earlier questions and tell her some other stories about school. He told her what little they learned and played all of the games that could be played with only two people. It was only after the sandwich was finished and Rose had completely fallen asleep that Harry let the thoughts stuck at the back of his mind crowd forward. 

'That sandwich came from nowhere. Even if Petunia were to suddenly give us a sandwich like that I'm not even sure we actually have the ingredients for that sandwich right now. I definitely didn't see them when I cooked breakfast this morning. Besides, it appeared like magic.' The last thought caught it Harry's mind. He had said something similar a year before when something odd happened with the fence that let a very friendly snake escape from a very unfriendly Vernon. He had been beaten even more than usual and told vehemently that "There's no such thing as magic!"

'What if magic is real?'

'It would explain some of the odd things that happen around me. It would certainly explain the sandwich. But why would they lie about magic not being real. They lied to Dudley all the time saying Santa Claus or the other holiday figures were real when they obviously weren't. Drawing the line at magic only made sense if … they didn't have it. They hated magic and tried to just ignore it completely. Just like they ignored the couple several houses down because they were French. Just like how they ignored Rose. Why could he use magic if they couldn't?'

'Oh… Right. Harry's a freak'

Harry almost choked on the thought but he couldn't bring himself to deny it. For the last year, Harry had been trying to figure out what had actually made him different from the Dursleys that made him a freak. The only thing he could figure was that he was a good deal nicer than them, but now he had an answer. Harry was a freak who could use magic and they hated him for it.

'Would Rose hate me too?'

Harry felt his heart stop for a moment. The possibility that Rose would hate him was more terrifying than any Harry had ever contemplated before. If she started to hate him, he would have no one. Harry decided to hide his magic from his sister. He would continue to use it like he did today if possible but he couldn't let her know about it. He couldn't let her know why he was a freak.


	3. Seven years after

Professor McGonagall sat in her office like usual, drinking an amber liquid retrieved from her 'secret' cabinet unlike usual. It had been seven years now since the Potter twins were left on those dreadful muggle's doorstep by the headmistress. 

She did agree with the decision at the time but when they failed to find them again she knew a grave mistake had been made. Now every year made her fear more and more for the children of her favorite students. She looked across the room to where a charmed picture frame housed one of her few photographs of Lily and James Potter. Just a little bit away from it was a photo of four young teenage boys whose eyes were full of mischievous intent.

As much as the self styled "Marauders" were a headache to her during there times at Hogwarts, she had grown very fond of them. They weren't dedicated to their classes but she knew better than to think they weren't studious. Some of the things that they produced with potions and runes would put many distinguished researchers to shame. 

On the other hand, Lily was one of her favorite students, not that she would ever admit to having favorites, because of her drive to learn and McGonagall often took time to guide her through the magical world since she was muggleborn. She was always top of the class and impossibly kind to the other students. She was also the only person who could in any way rein in the Marauders' pranks. It was almost funny that it took five years for her to realize her powers of persuasion over the group was mostly due to young James Potter's affection for her. When the two got together in their seventh year the entire staff, minus filch, had thrown a little party to celebrate as more than a few galleons changed hands.

She looked back at the paperwork on her desk and sighed at the pile that had been growing rapidly over the past week. One of McGonagall's duties as deputy headmistress was a review of the house point system. Making sure that the spell observing point allocation was in working order and making sure that points given or taken were commensurate to the stated infraction. 

The majority of her paperwork problem today was due to Severus Snape. She highly suspected that some of his claims for point deductions were somewhat embellished but they were always in line with the points taken so she couldn't actually question him officially on the matter. With Halloween coming however, even if the point deductions seemed reasonable on paper, their frequency had gotten out of hand just as it always did this time of year. At least she could take some satisfaction that his annual point taking spree was the one time of the year where even his Slytherins were not safe should they fall out of line.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

Remus Lupin was feeling very sorry for himself. It had been less than a week since the full moon and he could still feel the aches from his bones unnaturally growing into his wolf form against his will. His most recent employer had grown tired of his excuses for missing work every month and had fired him so he was going to have to leave his current locale as soon as this month's rent was used up. To top it off it was now the anniversary of the day that his honorary sister had died and her children seemed to disappear from the face of the earth.

When Lily and James had been deciding on the children's godparents they had initially wanted to ask him to be the godfather and have Alice as the godmother. They thought that Alice could be the one to raise them as her own and Remus could be the link to their real parents. He had wanted to accept but he was afraid because of his lycanthropy and couldn't help but to remember all the scorn and bigotry that he had to deal with growing up with it. All it would take was one mistake and he could end up condemning their children to that same fate. 

When he heard they were missing he almost went crazy looking for them. He might not have taken the official position as their guardian but the wolf inside had marked them as his pack and now two cubs of his pack were on their own. The only thing he could hold onto were the fact his instincts were telling him that they were alive. 

It’s a good thing that he wasn't all that in tune with his wolf side, having spent years suppressing it, because if he was he would have had to deal with knowing that it had been howling non-stop in his mental landscape ever since they were lost. He would have had to know that his cubs were in constant pain and fear because he wasn't there for them when Lily died.

__________________________________________________

Sirius black was locked up in cell 12-Z, one of the more secure locations on the already inescapable island prison of Azkaban. Seven years ago he had been flying to Potter Cottage on his trademark flying motorcycle whose sidecar was full of various sweets. Lily had made the mistake of telling the pureblood about the muggle traditions for that date and he had insisted that they do their best to celebrate it, hence the candy. 

Lily and Sirius had been spending more and more time together after James' death. They shared their grief and stories of him. Lily had told Sirius about how he nearly had a nervous breakdown when she informed him that she was pregnant and how he did in fact faint upon hearing that they were having twins. She told him of the little moments while she was pregnant that he would play talk with his unborn children, promising to teach them quidditch and how to do the best pranks. She told him how she had hit him up side the head for trying to corrupt their children before they were even born. 

Sirius had told her about how they met on the train for the first time and became as close as brothers almost as soon as they exchanged greetings. He told her how James had spent the entire first night laying awake and staring at the ceiling because he had just met the most beautiful girl he had ever seen with red hair and amazing green eyes. He told her of how he banned the group of friends from pulling any pranks on the first years because he had overheard Lily saying that it was cruel to another student. He told her how he had ran up to them, completely out of breath, because the girl of his dreams had agreed to go on a date with him after seven years of his one-sided pining. 

He had appeared after the Headmistress spirited away the twins and was greeted to the sight of her dead body and an empty crib. He had gone into a rage knowing who must responsible for her death and he assumed the kidnapping of her children. He had hunted down Peter for through the night before finally cornering him in Diagon Alley. His hand was wrapped around a palm-sized piece of polished obsidian that was covered in runes designed to draw what little magic existed within in the user's blood, amplify it, and mold it into the equivalent of a blasting curse. More than enough to kill the rat.

The aurors had arrested the magically drained and delirious Sirius Black for the murder of Lily Potter and conspiring with She-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named. They through him into Azkaban without a trial and there he stayed. His honorary sister was dead and the children of his two closest friends were taken by the Dark Witch. He had nothing left to live for and found that the dementors could barely even worsen the pain he already felt because of his loss. 

All over the walls were complex runes that he had painstakingly carved in between his hourly visits from the soul sucking demons. Some were pieces of pranks that he had pulled with his friends in the past while others were newly designed to keep his mind busy and incapable of remembering the past. When night came he would trace the tattoos of runes that crossed his all over his skin. They were part of the bond the Marauders shared. Their ultimate secret.

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The dark witch Morgrave slithered through the forest of Albania while possessing the body of a snake. She had been reduced to a form that was even less than that of a spirit but she was ever so slowly regaining some of her power. In just a few more years she would be able to possess a human again. There were many routes to take from there to regain her own true form and when she returned her vengeance would be swift on the followers of the light who had opposed her and that insignificant witchling who had reduced her to this state.

The fact that her anchors were the only thing that had saved her was not lost to the witch and she found that piece of knowledge both infuriating and just slightly frightening. She had underestimated Lily Potter as a muggleborn witch of no consequence. Yet , she had held her own for much longer than almost any other opponent the dark witch had faced and then proceeded to place the protection that destroyed her in the end. The child the prophecy mentioned still lived and continued to be a threat as long as that remained true. Morgrave would have to correct that.

After all there was a prophecy to fulfill and she had every intention of living forever.


	4. Chapter 4

BOOM!

A storm raged all around, brightening up the sky with lightning and then resounding with thunder that shook the ground. Wind howled and even if there were a moon tonight it would undoubtedly be blocked by the sea of gray clouds blanketing the sky.

Harry took some time to reflect on the series of events that led to Rose and himself laying on the floor of a stone lighthouse of some tiny island in the middle of a storm. A mysterious letter arrives and is supposedly addressed to the twins, even detailing the fact they lived in the cupboard. The letter is confiscated and then Vernon, in an impressive display, did his best imitation of an eggplant while shredding the letter in anger. Over the next week the same exact letter arrived in increasing numbers until a flood arrives and nearly covers every square inch of Number four privet drive. It was after this happened that Vernon made everyone pack up and come here.

Harry double checks for the fifth time, that Dudley is in fact asleep on the bed a few feet away from where the twins cuddled together. He focuses for a moment while reaching out a hand and a parchment letter with a red wax seal appears from out of thin air. It had been easy enough to snatch one in secret and store it away using magic but Harry had kept himself from opening it. He knew it was selfish and unfounded but he couldn't shake the feeling that doing so would change the twin's lives forever. Any change could only be for the better, because how could things honestly get worse than the Dursleys, but he was afraid. 

He had hidden his magic from Rose now for five years because he was afraid she would hate him and now this letter threatened all of the fragile peace he had tried to build up for them. The only thing that kept him from burning the letter and continuing his current plan to bide time till their eighteenth birthday before leaving and never looking back was the fact the letter was addressed to both of them. If there was any path that led to getting Rose away from the Dursley's clutches he knew that it would be the one he chose every time. 

He broke the bright red seal and watched the pulse of magic flow back along the magical tether that was attached to each of the letters. If he guessed correctly it would be on its way to inform whoever sent the letter that it had been opened. There was no turning back now. 

He didn't even bother to read the contents of the letter and just went back to holding his sister who kept flinching at every crash of thunder from outside. He couldn't sleep, anxious as he was, and eventually his wandering gaze landed on Dudley's watch that showed it was almost midnight. It was almost their birthday. He smiled for a moment and when the watch read about 11:59PM he gently shook Rose awake. She gave a prolonged yawn before questioning her brother.

"Harry? What's going on?"

"Shh. Its almost our birthday. I thought you might want to celebrate." Rose perked up at that. Ever since their fifth birthday, which remained one of her favorite memories, Harry had done his best to give her a gift each year and celebrate with her. She had forgotten about it in light of everything else going on. She had been almost overwhelmed when she was allowed out of the cupboard in the daytime for the first time. Harry had snuck her out at night occasionally and played with her but she had never seen the sun and everything felt very different with people bustling about. 

"Look, only a few more seconds. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Happy birthday Rose."

BOOM!

No sooner had the words left his lips did the great wooden door of the lighthouse tear from its hinges and fall down into the room. Rose was terrified and instantly buried her head into Harry's chest while he felt his magic flare in response to a potential threat. Beyond the now empty doorframe, Harry could see a mountain of a man in a large leather jacket. Harry had no doubts that this was who blew in the door and that it was probably anything but difficult for him. The man walked through the door and then in an odd twist started to look rather sheepish while looking behind him. Following the large man through the door was an old woman wearing long robes and a pointy hat who was giving her companion a withering glare. 

"Sorry 'bout that." The large man stooped down before grabbing the door and lifting it back into its place. It was about then that Vernon and Petunia came down to investigate with Vernon holding a shotgun at the ready. 

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?!" Vernon was once again turning purple with anger though Harry could see a trace of the same fear that Petunia readily showcased. Harry would have loved to see how the two adults shrank under the pointy hatted woman's gaze but he had to focus on calming Rose who was now near tears.

"We are here to retrieve Harry and Ella Potter," 'Ella? So that's her real name.' "who have as of three minutes and twelve seconds ago acknowledged their enrollment at the Hogwarts school of Witchcraft." The woman stated this all coldly and there was no masking the contempt she felt for the people in front of her. 

"They'll not be going! We swore when we took them in that we'd put a stop to all this rubbish." Vernon raised the gun but the larger man simply grasped its barrel before bending it ninety degrees skyward.

"I believe you'll find they will. And you would do well to remember that I am quite skilled in that 'rubbish' and am quickly losing my patience with you."

Vernon's faced instantly paled and Dudley ran to get behind his parents. After a short few moments, the Dursleys retreated upstairs without another word.

"Its people like them that make me seriously question the regulations against use of magic against muggles. Hmmm, now if you two would please come out."

Harry looked at Rose who had calmed down without the Dursleys nearby and began to rise to his feet. Rose tried to resist but he gently lifted her up and she had to settle for trying to hide behind him. The two adults looked at the pair and Harry saw tears well up in the giant's eyes. 

"Ella, Harry, my how you've grown." Harry hesitated a moment before he felt confident enough to speak.

"Who are you?" The woman spoke up first.

"I am Professor McGonagall. I am the vice headmaster of Hogwarts. This man is Hagrid, the keeper of keys and grounds."

"Yes, but what's Hogwarts."

"Blimey. Didn't you two ever wonder where your mum and dad learned it all?" the giant spoke up in confusion mirrored by the twins.

"Learned all of what?"

"Magic." Harry felt his heart squeeze in his chest. After five years, the secret he had been trying to keep was now let loose. He stiffened and found that his voice deserted him while Rose seemed to have finally found hers as she spoke up.

"B-but magic's not real?" McGonagall looked at her before giving a slight smile.

"Yes it is, and not only will you be able to learn about it, you will be able to use it. You, Ella Potter are a witch."

"N-no, I-I'm n-not." Harry was shocked to hear Rose's voice lower to a near whisper and her arms tightened around him almost to the point of hurting. 

"Answer me this, have you ever made something happen. Something you couldn't explain while you were angry or scared?"

"…"

"Yes." Harry was floored. All these years he didn't ever suspect that Rose would have magic as well. Part of him kicked himself for each moment of panic and guilt over his deception when he could've told her all along, making it something they shared, rather than a secret kept between the two who shared everything else. The other part couldn't feel anything but unrestrained joy.

"If you would like we can leave here. You no longer need to stay with those people. "

The Potter twins shared a look.

"Yes."

McGonagall took their hand before Hagrid produced a thimble from one the hundred pockets that lined the inside of his coat and the group was whisked away.

They landed on a empty street and McGonagall began to walk toward a ancient looking building, identified by its sign post as the Leaky Cauldron. They entered and after a brief discussion with an employee made their way to three rooms where the group split up for the night. Harry and Rose's room had two beds but Rose didn't even think before joining her brother on the bed nearest the window. She glomped onto his side and was out like a light. 

Harry only took a little longer to drift off and while a thousand different questions flew through his mind, they were all drowned out by the realization that they were truly gone. They were no longer with the Dursleys. They were free.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long. I couldn't decide how I wanted this chapter to go and probably re-wrote it a dozen times before settling on this. The good news is that the next two chapters have pretty much been close to completion for the last month and only require final editing before I can post them. Thank you for everyone who commented their support or suggestions. It really does a lot to boost a new writer's confidence to have people interested enough to respond like that.


	5. A Trip to the Bank

Hagrid left in the morning on a flying red motorbike while the Professor stayed to get them sorted out for school. They were led downstairs and through the still empty pub before exiting and finding themselves face to face with a seemingly ordinary brick wall. Harry could tell it was magical but not much else so he was just as surprised as Rose when Professor McGonagall tapped it a few times and the bricks began to melt away. Harry and Rose stood still in wonder as the brickwork finished opening to reveal the long stretch of shops that made up the sides of Diagon Alley. 

Only slightly less distracting than the many curious displays were the crowds of oddly dressed people that were bustling about the long street. Harry felt Rose latch onto his arm again as she did entering the Leaky Cauldron obviously somewhat overwhelmed by another sight that she had never had the opportunity to experience in the cupboard. Mentally cursing the Dursleys to another lifetime in whatever version of hell was willing to accept them after they kicked the bucket, Harry put his arm around his sister in support before she decided to completely retreat behind him. 

McGonagall started walking ahead leaving the twins jogging to catch up with their future professor. "Now, I'm sure that you still have the letter sent to you. On the back you will find the list of things you will require for your schooling at Hogwarts. Though you two may need several things extra given your … personal situation."

Harry pulled out the letter from his pocket and flipped it over. "First year students will require three sets of plain work robes, one wand…" Harry's brows furrowed a little at reading this and Rose looked at the letter to finish reading it aloud. "One pair of dragonhide gloves, one standard size two pewter cauldron, and may bring if they desire, either an owl, a cat, or a toad." Roses eyes widened at the thought of having a pet and she started scanning the alley for a store that might be selling one of the listed creatures. 

She had always gotten along well with animals like mice that made their way into the cupboard and was especially fond of a particular garden snake Harry had snuck in from Petunia's flower beds after ensuring that it absolutely would not bite her. Of course she didn't know that his assurance that he had a very stern word with the snake to that effect wasn't in jest. Being able to talk to snakes had just been another one of his abilities he had hidden away from her.

"But Professor, how are we to pay for all of this and the extra stuff you mentioned?" asked Harry suddenly seeing a problem in the attend Hogwarts plan. "Neither of us actually have any money." 

"That is why our first stop is that building right ahead now." McGonagall then pointed to a somewhat rickety looking marble structure with slanted pillars holding up a would-be majestic façade. Written clearly atop the doorway in golden letters was the name Gringotts Bank.

"Now, Gringotts is one of the most secure locations in the entire world. It is solely owned and run by the goblin kingdom and despite owning other locations, is seen as their most important territory. The goblins are a proud race and manage the finances of almost every witch with a galleon to her name. This means you would do well to not insult them in any way, which can include staring. And it would probably be for the best if you leave the talking to me." Harry nodded at McGonagall's words and entered behind her when he noticed a plaque near the entrance.

'Enter, stranger, but take heed. Of what awaits the sin of greed, for those who take, but do not earn must pay most dearly in their turn. So if you seek beneath our floors, a treasure that was never yours, thief, you have been warned, beware of finding more than treasure there.'

"Well that's ominous." muttered Harry. Then he pulled his sister along till they were standing in front of one of the goblins' tall desks. They didn't notice that every goblin seemed to stiffen upon their entrance, nor that every eye with a vantage point to see them had tracked the two Potters all the way to the desk.

"Ms. Potter and Mr. Potter wish to make a withdrawal" stated McGonagall to the goblin at the desk.

The goblin set down his papers stiffly, not that a human could recognize it, and stared at the Professor who wore her own schooled expression. "That account has been inactive for nine years, nine months, and seven days following the death of previous account holder Lily Potter nee Evans. identification will be required to access any of its affiliated vaults. Should Gringotts find error in your identification you will be persecuted under Goblin law for theft. Do you wish to continue your course of action?"

McGonagall was taken aback for a moment though she didn't show it. In her entire lifespan and countless visits to Gringotts, she had never heard a goblin teller essentially warn a customer about their actions. Normal goblin behavior would be to list the punishments for theft, with a smile on their face, and then proceed unless the potential thief backed out. Despite these oddities, McGonagall had come to the bank with a purpose and the warning was ultimately pointless since the identification would be simple enough. She had been given the key to the potter vaults by the Headmistress who presumably received it due to her position as Chief Witch and Supreme Mugwump after Lily's Death and that would help in the process. The Headmistress had hoped it would be enough to gain access but now McGonagall suspected that would not be the case. But, as her two charges were the correct account holders the only inconvenience would be at most the loss of a few drops of blood.

"Very well, we will proceed." The Goblin got off his stool and led the three to a room on the side of the teller room.

_________________________________

Griphook had been having a decent day. A majority of the vaults he oversees were growing rather than shrinking and he had only had to deal with two witches so far which left his time open to review the Cordelia Fudge's account that had been receiving several suspicious additions outside of her minister salary. He didn't care one way or another what the menagerie of a Ministry got up to but it was something to laugh over at mealtimes with how obviously corrupt the human's government was and how they thought they were so sneaky about all of it. Yes, Griphook had been having a decent day until 'it' walked in.

It was a little known fact that goblins, like a few other magical races, had the ability to 'see' magic. It wasn't an exact thing but was occasionally useful for reading emotions during negotiations or to identify particularly evil witches. It was this ability in fact that prompted the goblins to place a full ban towards Morgrave against owning any vault or even entering Gringotts at all. 

Your average adult witch would have a slight aura of color around them, more like mist or the steam off a hot beverage. A more accomplished witch like an auror would have a similar aura, still nebulous but much more consistent and filled out than mere wisps of color. Witches like Headmistress Dumbledore, of which there are but a sparse handful, have an aura that seems to stick to them, flowing like water and much more vivid in color than any other. So it came as quite a shock when Minerva McGonagall, a respectable enough witch by goblin standards, walked in with a young witchling who was almost completely covered by a near solid and incredibly detailed image of a dragon who wrapped protectively around her like she was a treasure in its hoard. Only the odd coloration and the fact the witchling seemed completely unencumbered by the beast confirmed it was purely magic made and not its truly physical counterpart.

Griphook belatedly noticed that his lull in customers meant that he was one of the few open tellers and began to curse his luck as the two … eh, three figures approached him. It was to his dismay that when they made it to his desk it just so happened that while the witchling and the boy were hidden by his desk, Griphook remained eye to eye with the magical dragon. When McGonagall stated her intent to withdraw from the Potter vault Griphook was somewhat flustered since the vault in question was sealed due to inactivity. An unused vault was a costly vault in the goblins' opinion.

Official bank protocol would be to dress down the customer for inattention and charge them the appropriate neglect fees for having the bank oversee the account during the interim "NO MATTER THE CIRCUMSTANCES." It was only after a brief internal crisis that Griphook decided to ignore bank protocol in the face of a witchling whose magic he suspected could literally bite his head off. When he heard the confirmation that they would go through with the identification and the dragon had still made no signs of intent to eat him, he let a small internal sigh and led them to a side chamber. 

Gringotts possessed several chambers with the equipment needed to perform customer identification but the one he directed the trio towards was specifically the one meant for VIP's. Such figures included influential persons like the Vampire King, Heads of Magical state, or friends of the goblin kingdom. Luckily in this instance, bank policy allowed any teller in good standing, and who had sufficient reasoning, to grant a pseudo goblin friend status to a customer. The status would be reviewed later and should his reasoning be unsound it would likely lead to his execution but he highly doubted that would be the case here.

Inside the chamber was a more normal height desk with a silver bowl and dagger on top along with a stack of filigreed parchment. He took a seat and directed them to do likewise, noting that McGonagall was confused as to why they were in here rather than the normal chambers. Bless the ignorance of witches to not notice that much magical power literally sitting right next to her. He turned to look at the young Potters, who he truly doubted would be anyone else at this point, and decided to explain the procedure for identification. It wasn't bank protocol to do or not provide an explanation but most goblins saw it as coddling and pointless. He figured he would err on the side of caution since he knew non-goblin children were less accustomed to blood and he still had the dragon's ire to steer clear of.

"The identification process is done through a special form of goblin blood magic. A drop of blood is placed in the bowl before me and the results of your family tree will be transcribed onto a piece of parchment to be added to the records. This knife -"

He stopped immediately after having picked up the knife that was used for the process because the previously peaceful dragon had just bared its fangs at him and curled even further around the girl. He put the knife down and backed away from it in his seat as slowly as possible. Then he heard the boy who he had been admittedly ignoring speak.

"Just a drop?" 

"Um, yes. Just a drop is all that is needed and the knife makes sure to heal the cut immediately afterwards with no scarring." The dragon calmed and Griphook decided that if he survives the rest of the day he was going to make sure to take his yearly break tomorrow. 

The boy, Griphook was fairly sure his name was Harry if he remembered the account details correctly, approached the bowl and cut his finger with only a little hesitation and a slight wince of pain. Just as Griphook said, the cut healed almost immediately without a scar. The goblin turned back to the girl as the magic worked to write down the information when he froze once again. With all his attention drawn to the dragon curled around the girl he had actually spent very little time observing the witchling herself. But when he looked closely, through the gaps in the dragon's form, he could just make out a cloudlike aura of pale blue magic. It begged the question, if her magic is the blue aura … whose is the dragon?

It couldn’t be McGonagall's as hers was the same yellowish-brown cloud that she would most likely be stuck with the rest of her life due to her fully matured core. The witchling's own magic had to be the blue cloud since such aura's simply could not exist too far away from their emitter. It was probably only possible for the dragon to cling to her because it had already broken most known limits of magic by becoming so solid. Even still, it shouldn't be possible to exist too far away from its partner or else it should dissipate. The only person close enough to emit the magic who hasn't had their own aura confirmed would be … the boy, Harry Potter. 

Griphook couldn't really be sure about his theory but it seemed to mesh just a little too well in hindsight. Magic mimics its master's emotions which is why goblins can use it as a tell during negotiations. The moment when he mentioned the knife was the first time the dragon had shown any type of reaction. It hadn't been the fear that the girl had shown but anger. The anger of a brother trying to protect his sister. Griphook's eyes widened at the implications of Harry not only being capable of using magic but having such ungodly reserves of it as well. If he was correct, in a few years, the Potter vault would likely become the largest in the entire history of the Gringotts bank. He couldn't wait to see it happen.

__________________________________________

The rest of the trip to the goblin owned wizard bank amounted to a rather thrilling car ride that made Rose and the professor's faces green, a shockingly full vault, and then one more cart ride and an offered thanks to the Goblin who had helped them. The three went to leave the bank and Rose rather looked like she would rather never have to come back.

"Now, let us see about getting you your wand, Ms. Potter." the professor stated once they exited the bank, guiding them toward a less crowded part of the alley and a comparatively bland looking shop called Ollivander's.

"Professor, that's actually something I have a question about? You and the list mentioned that Rose would need a wand but she did magic at the house without one. Why would she need a wand then."

"Ah, that is actually a fair point to be made. The magic that most children perform before their schooling is known as accidental magic. It is largely uncontrollable and tends to be triggered by strong emotions. For every witch, a wand is a necessary tool to channel one's magic in a controlled manner which makes it possible to perform spells. Only powerful and skilled witches can learn to use magic without a wand and it normally takes years of practice and even longer before being able to do so without the effectiveness of such spells being greatly reduced. This is why a wand is so important."

'That really doesn't make sense. I know that some of my magic was an accident like breaking the fence or discoloring Petunia's flowers, but I used it plenty of other times without any real thought or difficulty. Am I really a freak like the Dursleys said, even among witches … wait, why did she specifically say "witches"? Witches should mean females and I'm pretty sure male magic users would be wizards or something like that. Are wizards rare in the magical world?'

"Um, why did you only say 'witches' when you were talking about wands?" Professor McGonagall stopped suddenly as if taken aback by the question and looked at her two charges. Rose was still silent as ever but looked confused about the break in walking and a little concerned in a way that showed that she had been paying attention to the conversation between her brother and the older witch. Harry still had one arm around his sister's shoulders but she could tell he had tensed up in a way McGonagall hadn't seen since they first met. 

"I apologize Mr. Potter. It completely slipped my mind that you might not have been aware which was remiss of me given what I know of your lack of interaction with our world. It is a known fact in our world that the first person to ever fully wield magic was Merlin himself, but after teaching magic to Morgana le Fey only to be betrayed and watching his king die, he vanished. Since that time there has never been another wizard."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you are at all concerned about the lack of dialogue from Rose don't be. This chapter is probably the last where Rose is still essentially silent as she is still rather overwhelmed by everything going on. Once she has more time to acclimate she will naturally begin to be more active in the story.


	6. Hogwarts

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Enter Hermione stage left

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Was planning on holding off on posting this but I'm impatient. Enjoy.
> 
> Also, if you have any suggestions on names of genderswapped characters please tell me because I am horrible with names.

The Grangers felt like they had a decent amount of exposure to the magical world by the time arrived to drop Hermione off for her train to Hogwarts. After their first introduction to the magical world they had made a few more trips to diagon alley just to walk and adjust to the idea that the previous trip hadn't been one grand hallucination. They had also read through one or two of the smaller books that they bought for Hermione but reading about magic was one thing, seeing and feeling it was another. Needless to say, when Hermione had stepped through the wall to reach platform nine and three quarters she turned around to see her parents staring slack-jawed at the sight of a completely different station and a bright red train being filling with students bound for Hogwarts. 

Hermione hugged her parents one last time and then strode onto the train with a little more confidence than she was truly feeling. It would be the first time away from her parents for a substantial amount of time and while the idea of letters for communication was a little romantic it wasn't the most comforting thing to the girl who was already feeling a bit of homesickness. An older student with a badge on her robe seemed to cast a spell on Hermione's luggage to make it lighter and after a quick word of thanks from the younger girl, moved on to help the other students. 

Hermione walked down the train with her luggage until she was next to a compartment that seemed to have some spare room and a more amiable group of students. Some of the other students were very cold to her as she had walked by but this group seemed to be having fun talking to each other so she decided to try her luck. She promised herself before coming here that she would do her best to make at least one friend. She knocked on the door and when one of the girls opened it, she asked if she could join them. She quickly regretted that decision.

They invited her in and after a round of introductions she learned their names were Lavender Brown, the Patil twins, and Semara Finnegan. A few moments later they resumed their previous round of conversation which revolved around clothes, parties, and rumors of a certain famous witch attending Hogwarts. Though a small part of her mind, that she didn't want to admit having, was somewhat interested in the news about Ella Potter who appeared in several of the books she had read before leaving home, she quickly realized that these girls were almost identical to many of the girls in her old school and just couldn't keep her attention on the conversation.

It was a depressing thought that she had to count it as a positive when they at least restrained themselves from insulting her bushy hair and teeth on their first meeting. Furthermore, they definitely didn't share her enthusiasm for learning. To the four girls, Magic was an everyday thing having grown up with magical family and no longer something to be in awe of or even curious about. After about an hour of conversation which Hermione tried to tone out while re-reading 'Hogwarts: A History', she leapt at the opportunity to help the slightly chubby girl Nevalline, find her missing toad. She grabbed her robes from her luggage before leaving saying that she would take the opportunity to change if she came across a loo. 

The two girls split up and asked each compartment about the toad with no luck. Most of the other students were somewhat considerate to the plight of a missing pet while others answered her question coldly and seemed to look down their nose at her. When she had just one last compartment for her to check she was already irritated and feeling a little obstinate. With a little more terseness than she would normally approach someone she placed herself in the doorway and looked inside. 

There was a lone occupant in the compartment, a small girl who had been curled up on the bench reading a book. Hermione took a moment and recognized it as the Potion's textbook for the year. The girl slammed the book shut when she realized Hermione was standing in the doorway and seemed to curl up even further on the seat. Hermione felt guilty for scaring the girl and kicked herself for letting her irritation get to her since it may very well have led to losing a chance at friendship with likely the only other person on this train who seemed to maybe like studying, or at least reading in general. A small voice at the back of her mind also commented that she might share a similar history of bullying with herself going by her reaction.

"Ah, I'm Sorry. My name is Hermione Granger. A girl lost her toad and this is the last place compartment to check. I didn't mean to startle you." Hermione was talking very slow and calmly as if trying to coax a woodland animal to approach. It seemed to work somewhat as the girl uncurled enough so she was no longer in the fetal position though still not as relaxed as she had been when reading. The book remained closed and held tight to her chest still. 

Hermione sat down and continued to talk hoping to engage the other girl. "What do you think about the potions book? I've already read all the school textbooks but that one was particularly interesting." The girl the girl just continued to stare back for a minute or so before she seemed to have reassured herself of something. She loosened her death grip on the textbook and let it rest on her lap.

"M-My name is Rose. My brother only bought them for me a few days ago when we got our letters a-and I haven't been able to finish them." Hermione noticed the girl smile just a little when she mentioned her brother. It was odd how she said 'we got out letters' since that would mean her brother was also a first year. Hermione just assumed her brother was older and working already since she said he bought the books. If they were muggleborn, then an eleven year old wouldn't of had enough money to buy the books unless their family was rich enough to spoil their kids to that degree. Going by her frail appearance, that was not likely the case. However, if they were magical, since males couldn't use magic they were often overlooked in favor of daughters so it was unlikely that a boy the same age as a daughter would be in any position to do such a favor for their sibling.

"Oh. Do you know any spells? I've only tried a few simple ones from the textbooks but they've all worked for me."

"No. I only learned about magic on the day we got the books and well…"

"So you are muggleborn as well?"

"Er, not exactly. Apparently our parents… our mother was a witch but she died and we grew up with … relatives. They didn't like magic and anything they didn't like they … ignored. So we were never told."

"I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to pry into anything."

"It's fine. After all, I had my brother to look out for me." Rose's beaming smile returned and Hermione almost chuckled at the reversal of the situation. She was now the uncomfortable one while Rose was being energetic.

"Well, do you have any questions about that book? I'd love to go over the material again before classes so I don't mind answering questions if you do have any."

"Oh. Well… This might sound a little dumb but … is there a trick to turning the pages. I've never read a book before and they keep sticking together."

Hermione was shocked. She knew that she was a bit of a bookworm and thus out of the norm if comparing the amount of books she read to the average person but to have never read a book before. It was almost blasphemous to the brown haired witchling. 

"Wait!! You've never read a book! How did you learn to read or write then? How did you never even read a children's book for school?" Rose was now pulled away from Hermione's interrogation. 

"W-well. My brother taught me to read and write. He had paper and pencil for me to practice writing and would tell me stories like 'The lord of the Rings' but he was never able to actually bring a book."

Hermione still felt rather insulted by the idea someone had gone ten years without reading a book but was a little subdued since it appeared to have been out of Rose's control. But her answers also spawned a dozen more questions of their own. 'Why was her brother the one teaching her instead of a school? How come he seemed to be the one doing what her relatives should have done to care for her? How much of Lord of the Rings could he have possibly told her without the books to read from?'

She asked her questions and received answers to each in turn. Her relatives hadn't let her go to school (Which Hermione was pretty sure was illegal), since her relatives tried to ignore magic they also did their best to ignore the witch in the house (Which was probably also illegal), and her brother had been able to convey a great deal about the lengthy trilogy such that Rose actually corrected Hermione several times during the extended conversation they had gotten into about the series.

Soon, the two witches moved onto lighter topics and just talked until they realized it was almost time for the train to arrive at the station. They put on their robes and made sure everything was in order, then picked up their conversation until they were some of the last students to disembark. Hermione was pleasantly surprised with her new, and first, friend Rose. She was similarly enamored by the idea of magic and excited to learn all that she could unlike the other girls on the train. She didn't even notice that she had never heard Rose's last name.

Rose was rather happy that she had found a friend in Hermione, partly because it meant she kept her promise to Harry to make a friend. The talking on the train had eased a good chunk of her anxiety about being away from her brother and by the end she found that she had never felt time pass so quickly.

________________________________________________________________________________________________

Harry was feeling very restless. Despite having been separated from his sister for longer periods of time because of school, this was the first time he was leaving her alone with other people. These people were witches though, so he probably didn't have to worry about them treating her as harshly as the Dursleys had. On the other hand, Professor McGonagall had informed the twins about his sister's particular fame as the girl-who-lived, and even Harry's limited interaction with either of the two societies, muggle and magical, was enough to know not all popularity was positive. He had wanted to sit with his sister on the train but the stern looking older student with a badge on her robes told them that there were separate compartments for boys and girls.

That is why he was currently sitting in the last car of the train, the only one reserved for the male students, surrounded by a bunch of loudmouths who reminded him uncomfortably of Dudley. They were at least better than the students in the compartment a few doors down. It had taken all of Harry's considerable will to not blast them through the windows of the train when they made several off-color comments about his sister. He had mentally flipped through several of the magical lawbooks he memorized to double check that murder was indeed still as reprehensible in the magical world as it was in the muggle one. 

The new lot of students he was sitting with were loud and a little disgusting, with how the red head was gorging himself on the trolley sweets that the other students bought, but they were staying away from subjects that might make Harry have to find yet another compartment. They tried to bring him into their conversation but he kindly said that he would prefer to just look out the window at the actually amazing sight of the countryside and so they left him to his own devices.

He spent his time musing about where the Hogwarts could have acquired a very muggle locomotive, studying the many layers of expansion charms applied to the carriage, and worrying about Rose in about equal proportions. For the train, his best guess was that they in fact stole it which he found somewhat hilarious. The charms, after giving him nausea with their swirling, weren't really much to look at. The majority of them were the same muggle targeted notice-me-not wards that covered the leaky cauldron and there were enough runes that were not in any of the books he read in Flourish and Blotts, that trying to make out any of how it works was pointless.

All in all, Harry had never before felt time pass so slowly.

_______________________________________________________________________________

"First years! Leave your luggage on the train. After you have been sorted your stuff will be sent to your dorms. All returning students, make your way to the carriages. First years gather around Hagrid to be led to the boats. " 

The station they arrived at was apparently located in a town called Hogsmead a little ways distant from the Hogwarts castle. With all of the students bustling about it became a chaotic mess and Harry had a hard time locating his sister. Soon enough though he spotted her standing with another girl and made his way through the crowd with as little pushing as he could manage. 

Rose noticed her brother when he was only a little bit away and lit up with a megawatt smile. She may have found a friend in Hermione but her very brief time living outside her cupboard and away from the Dursleys barely let her stand in a crowd without flinching or curling up in a ball. She bounced in place until he had finished pushing through the surrounding crowd and promptly latched onto his arm. Harry just fondly looked down at the head of red hair now buried into his side before introducing himself to the confused looking brunette next to them.

"Er, Hello. My name is Harry. Rose is my sister." Understanding bloomed on Hermione's face.

'So this is her mysterious brother. He really does look to be the same age as us.'

"Oh. My name is Hermione. Hermione Granger."

"Nice to meet you." Harry smiled at the brown haired witch who had to resist a small urge to blush. That urge only got stronger since Rose chose that moment to pipe in.

"Hermione's really smart. She's already read all the books and can do magic even though she only found out about it recently like us." Harry chuckled.

"Hmm. If she's that studious, I bet you'll have to work a lot harder on your schoolwork. I doubt she would let you get away with slacking off just because you showed her some puppy-eyes." Rose shot him a betrayed look but Hermione didn't think she had anything to worry about. Rose had pulled out her puppy-eyes during the train ride and they were deadly to Hermione's resistance.

"**FIRST YEARS OVER HERE! FIRST YEARS OVER HERE!" **

**"**Sounds like our cue to get moving." The trio started their way towards the mountain of a man holding a lantern and standing in front a fleet of boats that had neither oars nor sails.

"**Four to a boat now. And don' be touchin' the water if you don't wan' the squid to get ya."**

They sat down and were joined by the red-haired boy named Weasley from Harry's compartment, who kept trying to tell them that the sorting ceremony included a variety of elaborate challenges and a duel with a troll. Harry and Hermione had given polite chuckles in response but Rose had reverted back to her silence and curled a little closer to Harry, whether from the unknown company or the idea of fighting a troll Harry didn't know.

The view of the castle was spectacular, though Harry was a little distracted since the various wards kept trying to 'poke' him for lack of a better word. By the time they navigated through the castle to stand in front of two massive doors, the wards had given up on their actions. This left Harry free to focus on McGonagall who explained the sorting ceremony, which merely required wearing a hat, and how the house you were sorted into 'would be like family'.

Eventually they were called in to the hall and followed McGonagall between the central two tables to stop before a stool topped by a raggedy old hat. McGonagall picked up a scroll and re-said the instructions before calling out names.

"Lavender Brown." A girl walked up from the group and sat down while the hat was placed on her head. It was just a few moments before the hat actually spoke out loud.

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Harry knew Rose was afraid that they would be in separate houses and was a little anxious about it as well though he tried not to show it. He could feel her tense around his arm as more and more names were called forward. He really started to worry after the Patil twins were separated into Gryffindor and Ravenclaw. It was clear from the students' expressions under the hat that the hat wasn't simply shouting out a predetermined result for each student, at least for the sortings that took more than a second. If that was the case Harry might be able to negotiate with the magical artifact to place him with his sister, but there was one problem. The ordering of names to be called almost seemed random so there was no guarantee that he wouldn't be called before his sister was sorted and he didn't want to tell the hat to just push her wherever he was sorted into if that wouldn't be what's best for her. 

With the names left to be called slowly approaching single digits, Harry tried to push a little bit of magic towards the hat. If he could figure out how it works he might be able to manipulate it if it came down to it. The wisp of magic that he sent to the front came into contact with the hat and a link formed between the wizard and the sorting hat. 


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [talking through telepathy]  
'personal thoughts'  
"normal dialogue"

After Harry's magic connected to the Sorting Hat, he heard a grandmotherly, and rather intrigued, voice echo in his head. [Well, well, well. This is quite unusual. Normally I only get the chance to speak with a student while on their head. In fact, I would say its against tradition to be sorted out of turn but I honestly don't know if there are any witches your age that could try imitating your little trick in the first place. Ah, excuse me a moment.]

"Ravenclaw," The blonde haired girl that was sitting on the Sorting Hat's stool smiled and then deposited the hat so she could join her new house.

[Now, I'm afraid that this connection isn't perfect so if you were looking for a hint on where you'll be sorted then I can't help you.]

[Oh, wow. I wasn't expecting you to be so … intelligent.]

[I'll take that as a compliment young lady.]

[…Um, I'm not a girl.]

[I'm sorry but that isn't a particularly funny joke. Unless you mean to tell me that Merlin returned and decided to pretend to be a student, that is just not possible.]

[Look, my name is Harry Potter and I just want to know whether or I'll be sorted before my sister Rose?]

[You'll be first of course. The family names are ordered by when the student's enrollment was acknowledged but siblings are always sorted alphabetically.] Harry's face scrunched up at that revelation and belatedly recalled that Padma had been sorted before Pavarti.

[Is there any way to change that?] He pleaded.

[That isn't part of my design. I only sort the students after they are called, I don't determine in what order that will happen. On that note, I rather think you should wait for your turn like everyone else. I've let this go on for long enough since it was such a novel situation.] Harry felt the Hat go silent. The connection was still there but it was obvious the conversation was over. He sighed and withdrew his magic, only to notice that Hermione's name had just been called and the brown haired girl was silently reassuring herself while walking up to be sorted. The Hat's deliberation was on the shorter side and Hemione was surprisingly sorted into Gryffindor. 

Harry and Rose were now the last two first years left to be sorted. The hall grew quiet and Harry noticed that everyone's gazes were now all directed just a little to his right where his sister shakily stood. Professor McGonagall turned back to her scroll and readied to call out the next name. Harry was resigned to being sorted first and was almost about to take a step toward the stool when the next name was spoken.

"Ella Potter." 

Harry blanked for a moment before realizing his mistake. 'Of course they would use that name. They don't know that we called her Rose until now.' He looked at his sister who actually had a slightly irritated look on her face which he would have to ask her about later. She was still shaky but started walking after a quick glance at Harry. 

* * *

[Oh, so you're the other one's sister. Hmm, bit of a confusion with your name it seems. I guess it doesn't really matter for right now so let's see where I should put you.]

Rose was surprised by the new voice in her head but found its tone very comforting. It was definitely nothing like Petunia's shrill voice. The Hat went on to mumble a few things before asking Rose several questions. Some were straightforward while others were more random, like the one asking what was her favorite star.

[I've only seen the stars a few times and there are so many. How am I supposed to have picked a favorite?]

[Hmm, you have a point. You don't have many of your own ambitions so Slytherin is out of the question though you have a cunning that would do you well there. You are intelligent, but aren't really inclined to seek out knowledge just for the sake of knowledge itself. I would say that you would do best in either Hufflepuff or Gryffindor.]

Rose thought about what the Hat said and looked between the two tables where her prospective housemates sat. It was unnerving being the center of attention and she felt herself shrink a little. Ultimately, the sight of her first friend sitting down and staring back hopefully at Rose made the decision for her.

[Could I be in Gryffindor please?] She swore that the Hat's tone had softened even further when it replied.

[Yes, you can.]

"Gryffindor," yelled the Hat, moments before it was lifted high enough that Rose could run to sit down next to her bushy haired friend in an attempt to exit the spotlight. The cheers of everyone around her were deafening and she tried her best to not shrink away from all the girls around her that were trying to enthusiastically shake her hand or introduce themselves. She tried to listen for her brother's name being called but even that was drowned out by the many voices around her. It irritated her that no one seemed at all interested in her brother's sorting and that most of the hall had begun talking as if the ceremony had already been completed. It wasn't fair that they would ignore her brother like this when they had been so silent for her. The least they could do is be as quiet as they were before she was sorted.

* * *

Harry walked up to the stool when his name was called. Well, when he figured his name was called. He couldn't really be certain with all the noise from an ecstatic Gryffindor table. Even if the Professor hadn't called him up just yet, she placed the Hat on his head and the same voice from earlier returned along with a new sensation of water rolling down his spine as it looked through his memories. 

[Excuse me, most can't actually notice so I forgot how discomforting it can be for you. I am enchanted to keep every student's secrets so you don't have to worry, though I must say that I didn't really believe that a boy would have magic. I can see that you want to follow your sister but I will have to ask you if you truly thought about this?] 

[Yes. I would like to go to Gryffindor.]

[Ok, but before I make the announcement I would just like to say that you should tell your sister about your magic. I don't really believe it is a secret that she admires you greatly and that this isn't something that you can easily reveal but I also know how hard it has been for you to keep this secret. Even if you are a bit unusual for our world, I can promise, you are nothing like those wretched muggles claimed. I hope we can talk again.]

[… I would like that.]

[Well now,] "Gryffindor."

Harry whispered a thanks to the tattered hat as Professor McGonagall removed it, and headed over to where his sister sat. There was a open spot that Rose had apparently gone to great effort to keep clear in case he was sorted into Gryffindor and so he sat down next to his sister who gave him a tight hug. Harry took a good look at his sister's smiling face and realized that for the first time, she was truly happy. There was no longer that shadow of pain and neglect, darkening the back of her eyes. He knew their childhood, if you could call it that, had left a permanent mark on her just as surely it did for him, but for right now, it was all behind them. 

Harry felt himself being elbowed by Rose, only to realize that he had missed the Headmistress standing up and giving several announcements. She pretty much said that the forbidden forest was forbidden, go figure, the students should follow the rules, and the third floor corridor was apparently dangerous. Then, with a wave of her hands, mountains of food appeared on the tables. It was more food than Harry and Rose had ever seen in one place and the smell was heavenly. They wasted no time in digging in. With everyone enjoying the feast, the volume in the hall returned to a more appropriate level and Harry was able to pick up bits and pieces of the conversations around him.

Hermione was excitedly chatting with an older girl wearing a silver badge about when classes would be starting. A first year girl was explaining how her father was a muggle and was quite surprised one day to realize he married a witch. Another group was discussing their predictions for the school's quidditch competition which Slytherin house had won for the past six years. When Rose went to grab for a drumstick located closer to the center of the table, she quickly pulled her hand back and lets out a small scream as the platter she had been reaching towards now also contained a transparent head. 

"Hello. Welcome to Gryffindor." The head raised up to reveal that it was still attached to a body that had simply been out of sight. The older girl, who Hermione was talking to, recognized the ghost and decided to return the greeting.

"Hello, Sir Nicholas. Have a nice summer?"

"Dismal. Once again, my request to join the Headless Hunt has been denied."

"I know you," said the same red-head boy from the boat. "You're nearly headless Nick." The ghost turned to look at the open mouthed boy with an affronted expression.

"I prefer Sir Nicholas de Mimsy-Porpington, if you don't mind."

"Nearly headless? How can someone be nearly headless?" asked one of the Hermione.

"Like this." The ghost yanked his head to the side were it was revealed to only be connected by the slimmest strand of muscle and skin. Whatever method of beheading the ghost had suffered, had not been a completely effective one it seems. Hermione paled a little and even Harry thought the sight was a bit disgusting. The ghost levered his head back into its normal position before floating away.

The feast continued without any other major occurrence. Rose and Hermione talked between themselves and a few other girls nearby while Harry kept to himself. He hadn't realized that most of the males had grouped up, further down the table so he was surrounded by witches who were much more interested in getting to know his sister than her magicless twin, not that he minded.

When the feast ended, the student with the silver badge, Alexis, led the first years through the confusing corridors and moving stairwells of Hogwarts until they arrived in front of a painting of a large woman in Victorian dress. 

"Password?" intoned the painting.

"Caput Draconis." The painting swung open to reveal a passage into a red and gold decorated common room. "Now, boys dormitories are to my left, female to the right. Your luggage will have already arrived in front of your bed. You may feel free to stay in the common room for a little longer but you will need to be in your dorms by ten."

Harry heard Rose yawn next to him and nudged her towards the stairs to the female dorms. She nodded back to him before grabbing Hermione and exiting the common room. Harry only stayed a minute longer before deciding that there was no point in staying awake. 

* * *

Rose had woken up a few hours after retiring to her bed and now sat in front of an open window, slowly stroking the feathers of her owl Hedwig. Rose had seen her through the window of the pet shop and instantly fell in love with the beautiful bird, begging Harry to buy it for her. The rest of the other first year girls were asleep since it was the middle of the night but Rose hadn't been able to get comfortable. It was finally sinking in how much her life had changed since Professor McGonagall had told them she was a witch. She was completely full, had her own bed to sleep on, an amazing pet, a possible friend, and was going to be learning magic with other girls like her starting tomorrow. Eventually, her lingering drowsiness had her fighting to keep her eyes open so she watched Hedwig fly to another tower before getting in bed and letting sleep take her.


	8. First class

Harry was startled awake by the sensation of the Hogwarts wards nudging him for attention. Apparently, yesterdays attempts to get a response from him were not going to be the last. Nevertheless, a quick glance through the curtains of the four poster bed and towards the clock showed that it was time for Harry to be waking up anyway. He sat up and stretched, trying to ignore the wrongness he felt from not have Rose beside him when he woke up. Snoring resounded from a few beds over and startled Harry. Now fully alert, he slid out of bed and began to prepare for the day. After getting dressed in his uniform and packing his bag with anything he might need, Harry headed downstairs to see who else might be up. He hoped Rose would be but didn't hold out much hope, knowing of her tendency to sleep for sixteen hours a day if he wasn't there to keep her company.

Just as he predicted, Rose had a slow start and it rather looked like Hermione was putting in just as much effort to drag her across the common room as Rose was putting into her walk. It was odd though that despite the fact she was so energetic, Hermione seemed to be in a similar state to Rose. Meaning both looked like they had just rolled out of bed before coming down. Both had hairs sticking out at odd angles from their heads, though it was hard to tell with Hermione's naturally bushy hair, and they each failed to hide small yawns as they moved closer. Apparently neither were a morning person and Hermione's excitement had simply managed to overrule everything else.

"Good morning."

"Good morning Harry," Hermione responded. "Are you excited for classes as well? I almost couldn't sleep, thinking of what we might get to learn today? We should be getting our schedules today. That's what the prefect said at least. I hope we have charms today; it looked the most interesting."

"A little I guess." Hermione's brows furrowed a little at his unenthusiastic reply but her next remark was stopped when she heard Rose give a much louder and drawn out yawn. Harry chuckled as his sister's cheeks turned decidedly red from embarrassment.

"We should get to breakfast. A bit of food should help my sister wake up. God knows nothing I did ever worked." Hermione looked a little put out and Rose was lightly glaring at Harry for his teasing but they followed behind him as he walked toward the portrait hole.

Once outside, Harry started to head off in the same direction they came up the previous night. He had made sure to pay attention to where they had walked rather than blindly following the older students so it wasn't that difficult to navigate back to the grand staircase. This is where Harry had to pause. When they were coming up, it had taken almost half an hour to climb the moving staircases since they didn't always lead to where they were needed. On top of that, there were two times where they moved before all of the students were completely off of them, which meant the rest of the group had to wait until the staircase decided to come back around. Suffice it to say, Harry wasn't looking forward to navigating them every morning no matter how interesting they seemed at first glance. When Harry looked down at the position of each staircase to see how bad off they were and estimate how long it would take to make it to breakfast he felt the wards brush up against him yet again.

This is getting ridiculous. Am I going to have to deal with this all of the time. I going to go nuts if that's the case. Harry heard some noise coming from the staircase but was busy trying to remember if any of the books he saw might have an answer to his ward issue. It took another, stronger, nudge from the wards for Harry to realize that the noise had been the staircases moving into a new position. They were now positioned into the most direct path from the Gryffindor hallway to the Great Hall. As long as they didn't suddenly rearrange themselves, their little group should be able to get to breakfast in just a few minutes. It seems that the wards were actually trying to help him. Saying a little mental thanks, Harry led the two girls down.

Breakfast was similar to the welcome feast in that food just appeared and so the three ate while waiting for their schedules to be handed out. Professor McGonagall waited till it seemed everyone had arrived and then passed out the schedules, starting with the older students. By the time she arrived at where Harry was sitting, Hermione had gone from normal levels of excitement to actually vibrating in her seat with anticipation. As soon as the three finished eating, Hermione insisted that they start to make their way toward the transfiguration classroom so they could get there early. Harry let the other girl lead the way while offering subtle suggestions based on the school ward's own directions and so they easily found the desired classroom.

There were several rows of long tables arranged in front of two blackboards that flanked what Harry assumed to be the teacher's desk. What struck him odd was the fact that a tabby cat was sitting itself quite squarely on the center of said desk. It wasn't Filch's somewhat mangy looking cat and it was sitting as if it were perfectly normal to be there so it probably wasn't a student's. Though, to be fair, looking like they owned the place was sort of the default appearance for most cats. Harry figured that it must be the Professor's animal, since it would surprising for owning a familiar to be limited to one's childhood. Harry decided it would be best to simply leave the cat alone but quickly realized that his sister had come to a rather different conclusion. He reached out and managed to catch her shoulder before she took off towards the desk.

"Don't Rose. Not all animals like to be petted and even if they did, it isn't right to do so without asking their owner. That goes double for familiars. How would you feel if you saw someone stroking Hedwig without asking you?" she frowned in answer. "On top of that, it is most likely McGonagall's. Best not upset a teacher before your first class."

"Fine," she said before giving a little huff and Hermione resumed her pulling so that they ended up at one of the front desks. Hermione took the seat closest to the center and began to pull out what she thought she might need to take notes, including ten sheets of parchment, quill and inkwell, and the assigned transfiguration textbook. Harry took the far side and Rose settled in between them. They spent the next fifteen minutes or so waiting for the rest of the students to file in while talking about what they expected to learn in the class.

"I'm just a little confused as to why boys are required to attend as well?" asked Hermione while shooting Harry an apologetic look. He had thought a similar question when he first heard that it would be required as well and made sure to research it. He smiled to show he took no offense before replying.

"It's because the theory component applies to more than just spellcasting. There don't seem to actually be as many jobs as you might think that primarily require the ability to use spells. I think being an auror is the most notable one that does but most magic is used for household convenience. The high end research jobs like spell crafting or ward breaking would probably prefer to hire witches who can apply and test their work but the theory behind each can be worked through by anyone with enough knowledge." She and Rose shared looks of mild enlightenment and soon the bell rang to signal the final minutes prior to class.

"Wait, how do you know all of this? I thought you only learned about magic recently as well." Harry looked awkward for a moment and went to scratch the back of his head.

"I kind of read a lot." A little later, a large group of their fellow year students filed into the classroom behind someone Harry could only guess was a Ravenclaw prefect based on her blue trim and silver badge.

As everyone sat down, Harry noticed that the other boys had all largely chosen to sit in the back of the class and several of the girls were giving him looks that made him think they expected him to move towards the back as well. He ignored the odd stares and turned back to the front where the chalk was now floating in front of the board and beginning to write. It seemed to be writing down the course syllabus information such as how grades would be handled and how many tests they could expect. The teacher was nowhere in sight so the only course of action to take was to follow Hermione's example and copy down the information. 

Harry was wondering whether or not the entire class would be taught this way when he heard hurried footsteps. He and most of the other students looked behind them to where the red-haired boy, who he learned was named Ron, was just entering the classroom while panting and out of breath. He looked around and sighed before sitting down in the only empty seat at the back of the room. Harry just tried to ignore the interruption but, in the otherwise silent classroom, it was impossible not to overhear the boy beginning to comment to the classmate next to him.

"Man, am I lucky. Can you imagine the look on McGonagall's face if she knew I were late?" Harry then watched as the cat that had been sitting on the teacher's desk stood up and leapt from its perch. Halfway through its journey to the ground, the cat suddenly began to grow and morph till nothing of the cat remained and in the same spot that it should have occupied, stood Professor McGonagall. She strode over till her withering glare was leveled directly at Ron and Harry was very happy to not be sharing in his predicament.

After a thorough lecture on the merits of punctuality which ended with Ron's face looking as red as his hair, the class began in full swing. They finished going over the logistics for the class quickly and moved onto an introduction of Transfiguration as a field of magical study. Eventually the bell rang once more and the class was dismissed with a reminder that the first magic practical of the class would be in three days time and that each witch should prepare accordingly. The students left and Harry watched the Ravenclaws gather and head towards the charms classroom where they would share a class with the Hufflepuff students. Harry thought the situation was a little odd but he and his fellow Gryffindors were instead scheduled to have potions as their next class with the Slytherins in the dungeons.

* * *

Rose regretted feeling jealous of Harry being able to go to school. Before attending Hogwarts, going to school meant being free from the Dursleys and able to read all the books you could ever wish for. Harry had often told her that school wasn't actually that amazing but she thought that was just something he said to make her feel better for not being allowed to attend.

Her morning had begun with Hermione shaking her awake before the sun had finished rising above the horizon. Since Harry always took care to let her sleep in the mornings she never developed his habit of waking up early. Then she'd had to wrestle with her clothes as she tried to get dressed into the school uniform, which she was not really a fan of. The oversized hand-me-down t-shirts that Harry gave her were considerably more comfy and much less constricting. Breakfast was delicious though and the fog of sleep had almost completely cleared by the time they had arrived at the transfiguration classroom. Finding out that the adorable cat was in fact the teacher had been slightly devastating but she was ultimately glad that Harry had stopped her from trying to pet her.

The most annoying thing though was the roll call. Why couldn't they get it through their heads that she was not Ella Potter. Even her first friend kept trying to call her Ella. For ten years, the only person who cared for Rose was her brother. He fed her, taught her, talked to her, and for the longest time was the only good thing she had ever known. On the other hand, she had known that the magical world existed for less than two months and yet they thought it was okay to try and take the away the only name she had known. The name she received from her brother when her relatives were content to leave her nameless. She was Rose Potter.

During the class, after her irritation died down, she still found herself losing focus after periods of time. The content seemed interesting enough but hearing it from a teacher made it all seem so dull. When Harry taught her, he always found ways to keep her attention and make learning fun so listening to Professor McGonagall talk like she was reading lines off a script was mind-numbing. Hopefully potions class would be a little more interesting.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose felt sick. It had started as soon as they had made their way into the school dungeons. The atmosphere down there was so different from every other part of the magical castle. She couldn't help but feel that the walls were slowly closing in on her and flashbacks of her cupboard struck at her with every step. Harry noticed her tension and he gently clasped her hand in his. She felt herself relax and focused on the contact.

'This isn't my cupboard. This isn't my cupboard.' Chanting her little mantra in her head, Rose was able to ignore her surroundings. At least for a little bit.

When she entered the classroom for the potions class she blanched. All along the walls were dozens of jars filled with a variety of pickled animals and other assorted contents that looked no more pleasant. Her currently morbid imagination filled her heads with the image of Hedwig stuck in one of those jars and her grip on her brothers hand tightened to the point that she was worried that it was hurting him. He didn't do anything to remove her hand, for which she was grateful, and simply used their connection to lead her into the classroom. She locked her eyes on the ground and followed the tug of her brother's hand to her seat. Only once she was sitting down did her grip slightly loosen.

She was alerted to the teacher entering by the sound of their robes. The slight hum of conversation around her stopped and it was replaced by a shuffling noise like many students were quickly straightening in their seats. Then she felt Harry give her hand a slight squeeze before letting it go. Should she hate a teacher because of that? Probably not. Did she? A little bit, yes.

The teacher went straight into calling off names from the roster. The first few students were slow to answer, not realizing what was happening, but soon everyone was responding to the stern sounding teacher promptly. Then it was her being called. She almost wanted to ignore it.

'Why should I respond to that name!?' she thought heatedly in her head. However, Harry had taught her about what teacher's expected and she didn't want to get in trouble in her second class ever. She looked up and met the teacher's eyes before responding.

"My name is Rose Potter." The teacher showed no emotion at her declaration but she could practically feel Harry swiveling to look at her and the teacher in turns. 

"Noted." There was a stir in the class, especially the green clothed half. Rose ignored all of this though as she returned to her previous endeavor, trying to stare a hole through her desk. She was marginally successful as she swore she did see the desk darken and a small puff of smoke appear before it was blown away and the desk returned to its normal coloration. Too quickly the roll call ended and it seemed that the actual lesson was going to begin.

* * *

**a few minutes prior**

Severus Tobias Snape paced the length of his office as the seconds until class ticked away. For the first time in a very long while, he could honestly say that he felt some fear. On a normal day, if you-know-who were to suddenly appear in front of him he would only be slightly nervous at most. After all, pain was temporary and he wasn't exactly afraid of death anymore. The only person he could say he ever really loved had been dead for ten years because of his mistake. But she had left something behind. In a few moments he would be teaching potions to the first year Slytherin and Gryffindor students, which included one Ella Potter.

It would be the first time he saw her, having been absent from the welcoming feast along with Professor Flitwick due to issues involving Hagrid and his three headed monstrosity that was obviously quite irate with its new living situation. Even if the Cerberus species were bred as guard dogs, they still preferred to remain in nature when possible. Since the beast is resistant to most magics, the only way to relocate it was to lead it through the castle and to the third floor corridor. Hagrid's suggestion to use music had simply made it fall asleep and immovable and so Snape had been called on to create a high strength calming draught to pacify it for the needed duration. Even under the effects of the potion, the beast had come very close to landing a bite on the overworked professor. Professor Flitwick's quick reflexes and shield charm were the only things that stopped Snape from most likely losing a leg. If he wasn't careful it would be very easy to be injured when dealing with it in the future. 

When the dog situation had finally been dealt with it was so late that Snape and Flitwick only arrived for the tail end of the yearly post-feast staff meeting. Most of the serious discussions had already concluded and they had begun sharing their initial impressions of the new students. He was disappointed and yet unsurprised Lily's daughter was sorted into Gryffindor but the comments he heard from the rest of the staff worried him. 

**During the meeting**

"She looked rather thin. More underfed than lean," said Madam Pomfrey, the school nurse.

"She was also rather skittish. Definitely afraid of crowds but it was nice to see that she already made a friend," piped in Professor Sprout. Hufflepuff house was often the place for students who came from less than kind home environments so she was well practiced in spotting some behaviors to look out for and address in order to help them. She hoped that she was wrong about what she had seen that night as contemplating that type of past for the girl-who-lived was an especially grim concept.

Snape then spent the night imagining all of the worst case scenarios that Lily's daughter might have faced and how it could harm her. After all, he was familiar with how terrible growing up unloved and unwanted could be for a child and there was no one he figured could be more unloving and cruel than Petunia Dursley.

Although everyone had been mildly worried when Lily's children couldn't be found, he had been furious. He was possibly the only person in the wizarding world, including the headmistress, who had actually met Lily's sister. He knew better than anyone exactly how horrible Petunia was from their few childhood interactions where she would constantly call Lily a freak of nature that would be better off dead. The only thing that kept him from refusing to cooperate with the Headmistress after hearing where she had left the children, was the knowledge that it was ultimately Lily who okayed her sister as a potential guardian.

Not willing to risk the slight chance of having a panic attack moments before class, he clamped down his mind with the entirety of his skill as an occlumens. Though he lacked the magic to fully master the skill, he would only lose out to prodigies like the Dark witch and Headmistress in terms of his mental defenses. His fear became muted and his logic returned to the forefront of his mind. A quick glance at the clock showed him that there was no more time left and so he strode out of his office and across the hall that separated him from the potions classroom. His eyes remained fixed on the lectern at the front of the class as he entered and his fast pace had his robes billowing behind him a bit dramatically. He found the parchment with the class roster sitting on the stand where he left it and began his roll call. His active occlumency shields made his voice flat as each name was called out. Then he reached her name and couldn't help looking up to take in his students for the first time.

"Ella Potter." Despite the questionable lighting of the dungeon classroom his eyes immediately found her. At first glance she looked so much like her mother that old memories threatened to distract him, but he could still spot the differences. Her hair was a little fuller, not quite wavy, but not as straight as Lily's had been. She was much smaller than Lily was at this age as well. She was hunched over and was staring fixedly at her desk while looking a little green. She looked up at him and a pang shot through him as he recognized James Potter's hazel eyes.

"My name is Rose Potter." One byproduct of becoming an occlumens that most people didn't consider was that the extensive training to control your emotions made it very easy to tell what emotions another person was feeling by the little tells they displayed while talking. Ella, no, Rose Potter was very uncomfortable. She avoided eye contact except for the brief moment where she decided to correct him about her name. Why she was so adamant about using a different name to the point she would go out of her comfort zone and confront him was another question. She was looking at her desk and shaking slightly, almost on the verge of a panic attack if he wasn't mistaken. Lastly, she kept looking sideways toward her brother as if he was the only person she could trust not to hurt her.

Actually, that last observation was probably not too far off. Snape felt sick to his stomach and looked around at his other students. The Gryffindor students were looking between himself and Ell-Rose in worry, likely expecting him to scold her for interrupting him. Her brother was simply trying to subtly calm her down and the Granger girl next to her was sitting ramrod straight and staring at the board as if fearing that she would also be scolded if she didn't appear to be a model student. The Slytherin students, especially a group of three girls on the side, were all smirking as if in anticipation of an enjoyable show. It rankled him for a moment that his reputation and the relationship between the two houses was this terrible but he knew that he had done his fair share to encourage such behavior over the last ten years. Maybe he could start to fix it now.

"Noted." When he finished the roll call, Snape went to the front of the class and towards the set of potion brewing equipment that was always set up for him to use just in case.

"Now, the Art of potion brewing is quite different than most other studies here at Hogwarts. You will not be learning how to wave your wand and as such I imagine many of you will think that such a practice is not worth your time. For those of you who do wish to learn, I can teach you how to brew glory, bottle fame, and even put a stopper on death. However, as one must do with anything new, we will be starting off today with the basics. I will demonstrate and narrate the process by which to brew a potion to cure boils. We will go over the steps, their effects on the potion, and their importance individually over the next few days so I will expect you to simply take notes on the larger points today and focus more on watching exactly how the potion changes. Your textbooks may do their best to describe the process of potion making but one of the most vital skills in this is your sight and nothing can teach better than the ingredients and potion themselves."

He looked around the room and surprisingly felt a bit of pride when he saw rapt looks of attention from a majority of the class and not simply the glassy eyed looks of boredom from a bunch of young witches who just realized they wouldn't be able to just conjure up potions with a flick of their wand.

"Very well, we begin by adding crushed snake fangs to the cauldron and stirring clockwise…."


End file.
